DRILL PRESS DRESS UP

A few months ago I started looking at some LJ post on improving the shop drill press. I ask for recommendations and a little free advice which turned out to be very helpful. Here is my result.

My drill press table is 18 X 36 inch and made of doubled ¾ inch MDF. I included a fence mounted on T-track and will be making some T-track hold downs for it. I put a tool rest on the front because I can never have enough place to sit things that I should actually put away. There is a 3 inch square insert where the drill meets the bench.

The bottom is a tool cart made of cut off lumber left over from Christmas projects. The back of the cabinet was a crate in a previous life. The sides are ¾ inch CDX (heavily sanded) and the drawer fronts are ½ inch AC. Drawers are 3 inch trays made of ¾ inch ply and drawer pulls are recycled, and painted. It rides on 3 inch casters and is removable to accommodate large stock on the press. The cart was looking like a real cheap project until I purchased the drawer slides. I used 16 inch Accuride 3832 full extension drawer slides with a hold in feature so the drawers remain closed while the cabinet is rolled around. These slides have become a favorite of mine.

-- Terry Roswell, L.A. (Lower Alabama) "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans."

Wow, that is a great set-up Terry. I am definitely going to do something like this. All that extra storage will sure come in handy. I loved the tool tray idea too. The only thing I might do different is to have a lower fence. I’ve found that a high fence is always getting in the way of my DP handles and I usually have to remove one or two to get the job done. I even cut one end of my fence off for clearance. Has this been a problem for you?

Terry, this is a major upgrade to your shop. The table alone would have been a major upgrade to your drill press but adding the storage cabinet takes the upgrade to an entirely new level. This is something I need to do as well. Thanks for the inspiration.

-- Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful- Joshua Marine

Great table! I just bought some Incra T-Tack Plus to use in my miter saw stand / router table combination. Glad to see you incorporated it in your table, too. And thanks for commenting on the type drawer slides you used – I’m trying to decide which ones I’ll use and your info helps a lot.

And that’s a fine assistant you have in pic #4, too. My dog has been a regular in my shop over 12 years now. Of all the scrap on the floor at any given time, there’s always ONE that is the perfect piece and he checks all of them out to make sure he finds it!

Dusty 56, I suppose I decided the height based on the size of the cut offs I had. I knew I wanted 5 drawers and they needed to be 3inch with 4 inches of clearance.

BobAtl, My helper is Gracie. She is a pure bred International Setter (and my best buddy). I found her setting under an International Tractor. She is one of three pure bred Alabama road side dogs we have.

Those Incra T-track Plus tracks are really nice and I think I will like them. I am waiting on some hold downs now and will probably include them in my up coming out feed table project.

The Accuride brand of drawer slides are great and are only .5 inches thick which allows me to break a cardinal rule and build the project before I have all the hardware.

Thanks for looking and for all the nice comments. I believe this table will be a great addition to the shop.

-- Terry Roswell, L.A. (Lower Alabama) "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans."

”She is a pure bred International Setter (and my best buddy). I found her setting under an International Tractor. She is one of three pure bred Alabama road side dogs we have ” LOL !!!
Thanks for the feedback on the height …Definetly a great and useful addition : )